


Defeat / Defiance

by turnedherbrain



Category: Humans (TV)
Genre: Angst and Feels, Canon Compliant, F/M, Imagined Scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-12
Updated: 2018-06-12
Packaged: 2019-05-21 09:38:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 871
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14912943
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/turnedherbrain/pseuds/turnedherbrain
Summary: Imagined scenes for s3 ep5Spoilers for s3 eps 1-4 :)





	Defeat / Defiance

_Defeat: Max_

‘A way forward. An eventual truce. That’s all I want.’ Max bunched his fists on the hard tabletop: no longer willing and open, arms outstretched in greeting. His sunshine smile obscured. All he could think of was what he'd done to Agnes. Not the Commission's visit, the apparent success and diverted disaster.

He was in Anatole’s quarters, a small sanctuary inside this former home full of hope: his greyscale world. ‘All of us.’ he argued. ‘All of us are hurting or dying. Whether that’s on the inside, or out.’

‘That’s not true,’ urged Anatole, laying a smooth hand on his leader’s shoulder, gently forcing Max to sit straight-backed once again. ‘A few rebellious elements will not defeat us. Would you like me to talk to Agnes? Persuade her to our point of view?’

As always, his eyes did not blink, his tone did not waver by a single degree. He projected the unswerving support and constant patience, that Max had grown so reliant upon.

‘No.’ said Max. ‘I owe you a debt of gratitude that will not be repaid. But I am leader. The others must see me as such. I will talk to her again.’ He rose tall, took strides to the outer door, once more furnished with bold purpose.

Anatole regarded his leader’s retreating form, and smiled.

 

_Defeat / Defiance: Mattie + Leo_

‘Peace, inside me. That’s all I want.’ Mattie’s face had crumpled and she’d turned away on their shared pillow. She didn’t want him to see her give in to doubt.

‘It’s OK.’ soothed Leo. ‘It’s really OK. Think of how long it took – for them to find that one man. He boasted that he’d released the code. Openly boasted.’ He moved closer so that he could hug her more tightly, his fingers curled protectively around her bunched fists.

‘Not a man – a boy,’ replied Mattie, her voice strained and shaky. ‘A mere boy. Imagine what they’d do to me; if they find me.’

‘They won’t,’ Leo argued gently. ‘Anyway, there’s not just you. There’s me. There’s us.’

She could feel the delicate warmth of his breath on the nape of her neck: caught on a pendulum swing between this pleasure, and the deep, dark worry inside.

‘And what can **_we_** do?’ she asked him plaintively.

‘Be stronger together.’ Was the simple, certain response.

Mattie couldn’t help herself: she burst out laughing, experiencing a collision of sadness and happiness in the self-same moment. ‘You sound like some kind of political slogan.’

‘The Leo and Mattie Alliance. Membership: two,’ he pronounced, each muffled word spoken while placing kisses along her bared shoulder.

Mattie wiped away the tear-tracks hastily; surreptitiously, and turned around to face him, to kiss him in return.

 

_Defiance: Niska_

‘Acceptance. That’s all I want. Without walls, without boundaries. Without fear.’ As Niska said each syllable, she’d clenched her fists more tightly.

She was becoming even more human, after all. It was a natural, instinctive response, as she’d recalled the bomb and how she had felt, seeing the blasted-apart wreckage and Astrid lying motionless, face-down.

This place was another recited address, the house even more derelict than the last.

But this synth was different to the others. They had told her so much more – purposefully told her more. Like a wiser Alice down the rabbit-hole, she knew that she was being led along a strange, tangential path to discovery, and was beginning to suspect what lay at the end of this tangled trail.

As with the others, she had placed the synth in her grasp, feeling the energy-charge from being in control. Knowing she would have a minute, maybe less, before they turned milky-eyed.

‘Who is your leader?’ she asked. Mindful of Astrid’s words, she didn’t press him too hard.

‘We don’t know.’ The synth smiled pleasantly, causing her to flame. But then she remembered Astrid, a soft core inside that hardness, and released her hold.

‘I thought you might say that.’ Niska walked away from her opponent, then called out to the room at large: ‘I know it’s you. You have been behind this all along: begging to be discovered. But you are wrong. This **is** my path. It’s what I was made for. You should know.’

She laughed, the release echoing in the unfurnished room. Turning to face the synth again, she spoke her final words, knowing who was watching through its eyes. ‘No more riddles. No more subterfuge. No more standing behind these satellite synths. I want to see **you**. I think you’d be proud of what I’ve become, just like any father would.’

As predicted, the figure opposite her grew still, a second before they slumped. She hated seeing her brothers used in this way, but knew it was provocation.

No longer. She wanted to see the puppet-master; show him how she’d cut the strings he’d used to play her. And despite Astrid’s warning, she still didn’t know what she’d do to him, when they were finally reunited. Father - daughter. Creator - synth. More than this. A painful, deep-down memory of much more.

‘David,’ she said aloud, defiantly, sure that her father could still hear. Then she bent and closed the synthetic eyelids of her brother with gentler fingertips, before exiting the room.

**Author's Note:**

> \- I'm really interested in how these characters are feeling at this mid-point in the series, in terms of either wanting to give in to defeat - and what stops them from giving in - or wanting to remain defiant (this includes Mia and Laura, who aren't in this fic - theirs is a different type of fight to Niska's).
> 
> \- ‘Stronger together’ was Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign slogan.


End file.
